Posts
The collect for today, the Feast Day of Saint James the Apostle, from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer:
Grant, O merciful God, that as thine holy Apostle Saint James, leaving his father and all that he had, without delay was obedient unto the calling of thy Son Jesus Christ, and followed him; so we, forsaking all worldly and carnal affections, may be evermore ready to follow thy holy commandments; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
For the Epistle: Acts 11:27-12:3a
The Gospel: St Matthew 20:20-28
Artwork: Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, St James the Greater Conquering the Moors, 1749. Oil on canvas, Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest.
The painting shows St James as the slayer of Moors (Santiago Matamoros) and a defender of Christianity in Spain. The saint is said to have appeared on a white horse at the Battle of Clavijo in 844, while the Christians were in retreat before the onslaught of the Arab and Berber invaders. Thanks to James’s miraculous appearance, the Moors were defeated.
